What if ...mental illness can be a plus?

 Do you struggle with mental and emotional disabilities? I do. As a 1st through 3rd grader I had my own boys club. I was a budding leader. Entering 4th grade, something really nasty took over my earlier persona. My mind became captured by the scourge of severe dyslexia. My 4th grade class of 31 kids had a high academic level. But I was rock bottom with my best friend Mike. Most days I stayed after school to catch up, what I could not absorb during class time.

I am going to share my life story with disabilities along with answering this question. What if mental illness can be a plus? I went from the 4th grade to the 5th to the 6th to the 7th on public trial. Without my teachers in each grade willing to leave for home far later, I would not have been able to stay on point with my class. I could have easily succumb to a life wasted by drug or alcohol addiction as a fruitless way out of my misery! I was beset by frightful dreams, all with the same result - failing to graduate from high school. But I did graduate from high school and then four years in a popular Michigan college graduating with 2 earned majors in American History and Philosophy This second major was petitioned for and accepted by the Academic Affairs Board in the fall of my senior year.  

Immediately after college, I was accepted to grad school in Massachusetts and graduated 3.5 years later in 1975 with a masters degree and married Nancy, a classmate and my best friend. I have enjoyed a 52 year career in a variety of social service fields. But in the Winter of 2002 I experienced career burn-out  and clinical depression. To heal, I worked in large Boston, MA city hospitals for two years. The emotional  long-term by-product of dyslexia led me in becoming a career co-dependent and in my psychiatrist's opinion in 2003, I was now in the grip of Bipolar 2. For those of you who cannot imagine what that word implies, it's one scary pit. It took me almost 20 years to admit this mental illness to myself. 

Mental illness creates all kinds of baggage. What are we to do in making sense of issues and actions that make no sense? Where is the plus in that? Yet, consider Howard Hughes who suffered from a lifetime of OCD while becoming America's first billionaire or Ted Turner, a life-long dyslexic who with that disability created and launched CNN, the first 24-hour television news channel. "How do you not let mental illness control you? "Be in touch with your emotions. Accept you are feeling a certain way, let yourself feel that way and then take action to diminish unhealthy feelings. You can't control that you have mental illness, but you can control how you respond to your symptoms." Feb. 1, 2019 - nami.org

Would I trade even one iota of my life for something safer, more predictable, less confrontive? Not on your life! Why? I can assure you for every negative loss, 3 to 5 pluses were born. Even though I still struggle with these mental illnesses, my life has been very rich. My career employment includes five states, and we've also lived in Singapore and the Philippines from 1979 to1980. My family of five, from 1993 to 2000, enjoyed living in the cosmopolitan city of Halifax, Nova Scotia in Atlantic Canada. As a non-citizen I had to renew my yearly work permit with Revenue Canada and Immigration.

I've come to the conclusion, that God is a fan of the KISS principle, as well as being a phenomenal wordsmith. If your faith walk is Jewish, Christian or mainstream Islam, interaction with God's Word prior to the New Testament is probably familiar to you. Recorded in Psalm 73, verse 26 an individual named Asaph wrote "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the rock and strength of my heart and my portion forever". That is what I have faced, yet nourished by my walk with God and scriptures like this one. So, if you or a friend struggles with mental illness, try reaching out to God, for you need not allow the sum of your disabilities to define who you are.

All facts in this article have been researched through reputable resources, without plagiarism.

Be Well.

 

What If ... You Were Given a Million Dollars?

 I grew up in a small farming village southwest of Boston, MA. After walking home from school, I used to watch on our family's B & W television, an afternoon weekly broadcast. Titled simply The Millionaire. This story line involved a wealthy benefactor who instructed the same courier each week to track down a certain person in our country and give them a check for a million dollars.

Recently I went to Google and asked how many millionaires are in the United States. Wow. Google says the US currently has 22 million millionaires. That's 8.8% of US adults. 33% of those adults are women. Having $1 million puts you in the top 10% of wealth in the US. 22 million individuals, residing in the US, are in the top 1% of ultra high net worth individuals worldwide. Many of these individuals are film stars, national athletes,  self-improvement guru's, tech giants, mega-land owners, self-made business leaders, sweepstake winners, born into money, stock brokers, corporate CEO's and CFO's, regardless of ethnic background. What if you were given a million dollars?

In 2010 there were 3.1 millionaires in our country. Our free market system has historically encouraged competition and financial achievement. Maybe with all the ways one become a millionaire today - it's not that cracked up to be. Yet there's a powerful lesson to be gained in this discussion.

Put yourself into that television plot when I was about 9 years old, in the 4th grade. A stranger comes to your front door, rings a door bell or lifts and releases a hard metal rapper. You open the door and he introduces himself as representing an unnamed individual. With no strings attached he offers you a check made out to you. What would you do? It would be perfectly normal to question the integrity of this intention. You might think, even say 'what's the gimmick'? Why you? You accept the check, the individual leaves your front door, and you are left with your questions. What do you do?

Now comes the 64 million dollar question - as Grouch Marx used to say on an early game show. Do you bank it? In fact will your bank cash it, even with your name as the beneficiary? Do you spend it,... or give a portion of it away? All these questions presume we are masters of of own destiny. Given just a snippet of the world's news, I say whatever happens - we're not the masters of our destiny. A million dollars, whether it comes by free-market profit, winning a sweepstakes or lotto giveaway, or receiving a check from a stranger, does not start with us.

Psalm 50:10 mentions God owns the cattle on a thousand hills. In the day those words were written and attributed to an individual named Asaph; herded sheep and goats determined much of the economy of those times. God still owns the cattle on a thousand hills, as well as overseeing his laws of supply and demand..

"Now one can serves two masters. For you will hate the one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money". (Luke 16:13) If you or I were given a million dollars without any merit on our part, how might we respond? Yes, it would be perfectly normal to use it for ourselves. Yet there are 37.9 million Americans living below the poverty line. That's 14.6% of the US population. What if we were to imagine a greater insight, that this gift could serve  others before ourselves?  If you are already a millionaire, why not consider paying a portion forward to someone trapped in poverty. There's probably a million ways that portion of your million dollars could free another from losing whatever little is barely sustaining them. 

Be well.

What if NFL line man Damar Hamlin had not experienced cardiac arrest?

On Monday Night Football's January 2nd playoff, Buffalo Bills Damar Hamlin collapsed following a collision with Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins in the 1st quarter. Damar briefly got up, adjusted his helmet, took two steps before falling backwards having experienced cardiac arrest. CPR was immediately performed on the field and his heart was restarted. As an ambulance drove out of the field amidst the hush of thousands of fans, both teams of NFL players dropped to their knees in a wide circle of prayer. Thursday, three days later the hospital who received Damar held a press conference. The doctors said when Damar woke up he wrote a note to physicians asking, "Did we win?". The doctors replied: "Yes Damar. You won. You won the game of life.". What if NFL line man Damar Hamlin had not experienced cardiac arrest?

That day could have turned out differently The encounter would have been chalked up as another routine tackle and the game would have proceeded. The Buffalo Bills or the Cincinnati Bengals would have won, clinching the AFC North title. The cheers of more than 65,000 fans would have been deafening. Press interviews would have been conducted on the field and outside the locker rooms.

But that's not what happened. Something so totally different captured the hearts and actions of thousands, if not millions of Americans. ABC Television said "The intersection of prayer and sports has been especially prominent in the aftermath of Damar Hamlin's frightening collapse during that NFL game. All 32 NFL teams have included 'Pray for Damar' on their Twitter avatars. ESPN's Dan Orlovsky, former NFL quarterback, prayed for the Buffalo Bill's safety on live TV. Countless fans and other concerned observers said on social media they were praying, and dozens linked arms outside his Cincinnati hospital." 

What does this intersection of prayer in sports suggest? "It's new in terms of the scale and the scope," said Paul Putz, assistant director of the Faith & Sports Institute at Baylor University. "It's not common to see someone on a national television network who opens in prayer or just issues a prayer during the broadcast." So, why pray? What difference does it make? Consider Psalm 145:18. "The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth." Psalm 6:9 affirms that, "the Lord has heard my plea for help; the Lord accepts my prayer." These are life giving promises when taken seriously. 

When Damar fell, the ESPN commentators in their television studio were struck silent. But then one spoke up. "If we didn't believe that prayer works, we wouldn't ask this of you, God" Dan Orlovsky said in his prayer. "I believe in prayer. We believe in prayer. We lift up Damar Hamlin's name in Your name."

Afterward, Orlovsky told the AP in a text: "It was on my heart. The more we pray, the more Damar may come out of it." Bills coach Sean McDermott and general manager both thanked God in separate news conferences. NFL executive Troy Vincent, a five-time Pro Bowl cornerback during his 15-year career, praised God in an emotional news conference. "My greatest fear flashed in front of me in the moment, but for the goodness and grace of God, Damar is still here," Vincent told the AP. (Copyright 2023 KABC Television, LLC)

This matter of prayer in the public domain really transcends all means for human control. I am reminded of the Oregon high school football coach who was fired in 2015 for privately giving thanks to God on his knee, in the field after the game. Coach Joseph Kennedy lost his job. In a 6-3 decision the US Supreme Court ruled that a high school football coach has the First Amendment right to pray on the field after games. As of  March 13, 2023, Kennedy  has been reinstated as Assistant  Football Coach from the Bremerton High School in Washington.

Orlovsky commented from the ESPN television studio. "I heard the Buffalo Bill's organization say that we believe in prayer and maybe this is not the right thing to do, but it's just on my heart to pray for Damar right now. I'm going to do it out loud. I am going to close my eyes. I am going to bow my head and I'm just going to pray for him." He did pray, ... and the network didn't cut to an advertisement!

When you don't know what to do, prayer is your best option.

Be Well.

What if ... Globalism Is A Bad Idea?

Do you see yourself as an intentional seeker for truth, willing to change your stance, if persuaded? Or are you someone who finds straddling the fence of truth or consequences comfortable enough?

The United Nations website listed one of their new initiatives as U.N. 21/2030. Amongst items were a global currency, a central bank, the end of national sovereignty, mandatory vaccines, universal basic income, microchipping of citizens and the end of fossil fuels. The suggested completion date for these globalized actions was 2030. A small firestorm ignited and the United Nations quickly disavowed the report, and the media debunked it. But why did this story spread so quickly? Besides standing out as an example for those fearing a coming apocalypse, every element of this initiative seems entirely plausible. Fast track to this January's World Economic Forum's annual meetings in Davos, Switzerland. International news sites invested their broadcasts to the WEF's daily break-out groups and plenary presentations. The goal of  full globalization appears to be their primary golden goose. But what is good for the goose may not be good for the gander. What if today's issue for globalism is a bad idea?

There are currently 27 embroiling conflicts between world governments, vying for prominence against one another regardless of 1,000 treaties. Consequently there is a palatable fear concerning the complete disintegration of civilization as we know it. This item of globalism seeks to stop the clock of western civilization's collapse. Countless  examples of the written and spoken word are consumed with this desire to fix the fatalism of this fallen world. I am reading one of NC's Wake County Library books. Live No Lies: Recognize and Resist the Three Enemies That Sabotage Your Peace suggests a rationale that we, as individuals and not just whole nations, are at war. Author John Mark Cormer explains how. "Not with aliens from Mars, but with an enemy far more dangerous;...But unlike the War of the Worlds, our enemy isn't the figment of an overactive imagination (Orson Welles' radio depiction of H.G. Welles' classic scifi novel), there's no hoax. Our enemy is real."

When our world was in the full thralls of the coronavirus crisis, former British prime minister Gordon Brown vocally called for a "temporary form of global government". The presumptive conclusion for globalism to succeed is that individual behaviors have no individual rights - robbing us of our right to self-determination. Ray Bradbury's 1953 literary classic and perennial bestseller Fahrenheit 451 comes quickly to mind. Could globalism be Socialism, Marxism, Fascism all rolled into one? 

What can pause this kind of future? May it not be the 2023 prediction of the Doomsday Clock with mankind's impending extinction at 90 seconds to 12 noon. Genesis 11:4-6 portrays an example of globalism highlighting the often quoted, "we can be our own worst enemies" by modern humanist Friedrich Nietzsche! I have come to this conclusion, regardless of this world's opinions. "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and accept what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:2)

Be not afraid. 

What if your broken past can be the means for a new beginning?

 

In Fortaleza, Brazil's fifth largest city and the capital of Ceara, along the country's northeast coast ,,,, “Carla fidgeted in her seat. She tugged at her hair, then with her wrist she brushed away the tears glistening in her eyes. The 19-year-old buried her face in shame. Ringing in her ears were Franklin Graham's words: 'Any type of sexual relationship outside of a marriage relationship between a man and a woman is a sin against God.' As a young teenager – to escape the abject poverty of her Brazilian neighborhood – Carla sold herself as a prostitute for three years. Then she met Carlos and he rescued her, The couple married and started a family. What if your broken past can be the means for a new beginning? Now, worlds away from her once sordid lifestyle, Carla couldn't shake the guilt that still haunted her. But with Franklin's next declaration, she perked up. Was there hope? Could she actually be rid of her shame? 'I want you to know that God loves you and will forgive you of that sin,' Franklin said. 'He will cleanse you, He will set you free from the guilt, and He will heal your heart and give you a new life and a new beginning. But you've got to be willing to repent of your sins and put your trust in God's Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.' When Franklin extended an invitation to the Festival of Hope audience to come forward and surrender their lives to Jesus, Carla turned to Carlos and said she wanted to go down front. God had been tugging at Carlos' heart as well, but the 21-year-old hesitated. He shook his head and said he wasn't ready. All of a sudden, the couple's young daughter began to jerk. This had happened before. It was an epileptic seizure, and as always it filled Carlos with fear. He looked toward Heaven and cried out: 'God, if you will stop this seizure, I will go forward and will give my heart to Jesus. Please, God.' Little Claudia stopped shaking. She lay perfectly calm, with a smile emerging. As relief flooded over Carlos, he and Carla heard Franklin beckon from the floor of the Arena Castelao, 'Some of you still need to come. We'll wait. You come.' Carlos jumped out of his seat, took his wife's hand and together they bounded down the long flight of steps to the soccer field below. There they met Adoneas, a volunteer Festival counselor, and with his help, they prayed to receive Christ as their Savior.” Carlos and Carla were among the 83,000 individuals who attended the two-day Festival. Accepting God's love really isn't hard to do. All we need is to be honest with ourselves and willing to ask Him for His love to fill us. A new life and a new beginning can be yours as we begin this new year of 2023.

Be Well.